casting a reality check on real-world conundrums
Haven’t I heard this
somewhere before?
n My first instinct is to tell the
person who owns the story
what i heard. But how do i know
who really owns the story? perhaps i would go to the person
and say, “Wow. i must be confused. i thought i heard so-and-so tell the same story. has this
been your story all this time?” i
don’t want to accuse the wrong
person. the bottom line is that i
would want to know if someone
was telling one of my stories.
After giving your presentation at a
conference, you attend the closing
session and hear the keynote speaker
tell another speaker’s signature story.
What would you do?
I phoned the
speaker and told her
that she had enough
value in her own right
to tell her own story—
she doesn’t need to
use someone else’s
material. I challenged
her to have a conversation with the ‘owner’ of
the story.
n nothing. phonies are eventually weeded out.
n i would drop a note or email
to the speaker whose story was
used, letting him or her know
about it. it could be the two
have an agreement of some
kind, and i believe it should be
handled between them.
Years ago, I heard
someone tell another
member’s POW story.
I just cringed and
wanted to crawl under
the table. Now, I’d chat
with the speaker privately and recommend
he tell his own experiences for longevity in
this business.
I would ask the
closing speaker if he
or she knew another
speaker was using the
same story. I wouldn’t
assume which speaker “owned” the story.
I would just let the
speaker know that
some people in the
audience might have
heard the story before,
which could hurt the
speaker’s credibility
and impact.
NOTE: The following respondents did not speculate. They
tell how they actually handled
this situation!
n i experienced this situation
twice with two different out-
comes! the first time, i heard a
speaker tell the signature story
of one of our oldest members.
i approached the speaker and
asked how he developed the
story. this gave him a chance
for a conversation, not a con-
frontation. he said he heard it
from someone else and did not
know the source. he said he
would stop using the story and
we left in a positive way. in an-
other instance, the speaker said
it was his material. i informed
him that i knew the origi-
nal source of the story, but he
didn’t seem to care. i contacted
the speaker who developed the
story and relayed this conversa-
tion.then, i notified the bureau
that booked both of us. the bu-
reau no longer books the un-
ethical speaker.
n i asked the speaker if we
could chat privately. i told him
that i was impressed with his
presentation and how strong
he was as a speaker. i also told
him that it is important for
him to use his own material.
When i said his closing story
belonged to another speaker
who had made it famous and
continues to tell it, this speaker was defensive for a few seconds. then, he agreed that his
message would be stronger if
he created his own close, and
thanked me for the advice.
n i asked the speaker whose
story was used if she had given
permission. When she said no, i
wrote a letter to the other speaker explaining why it is bad form
to use someone else’s material.
